Sunday, March 27, 2011

In another attempt to bridge the gap between myself and the landscape, I have begun to focus on the forgotten attributes within the landscape. A simple weed or flower busting through the man made façade, shows the inherent tension between man and nature. I am creating a space and a tool to literally and metaphorically elevate the growth to a higher standard. Giving the work structural references to the body and its utility, I am interested in setting a more appropriate stage for the discarded natural elements

This object will be placed in the ground, or rather a crack in the cement where renegade weeds grow. This objects use is to take the renegade weed from the crack and give it a much more suitable home nestled in the top of this object thus presenting the weed with importance.

In the middle of this object are voids that suggest the wearer, thus connecting the body and handling of the object with the act the object evokes

In sight for the project :

This project shows my interest in the found object, the use of color and its applications to enhance the fictional qualities of the forms and the use of site specific installation. The absurdity of the use of the object draws attention to the inherent problem, the nature/ culture duality.

This piece is one of my first attempts in the use of color which I find has been resolved and works in conjunction with the forms and not against them. If there was more time to work on this I think I would embellish the found object( twig) more, perhaps adding extensions to its junctures or experiments with the use of color even more for that part of the piece.

Annodizing gives me the option of brilliant naturalistic color which I could see using in my work in the future. The aluminum gives the option to have a larger mass but keeping it still very lightweight which is something I have been struggling to find within some of my other work.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

When it comes to altering the color of wood, woodworkers routinely turn to stains to give wood more-or a slightly different-color. But wood bleach lets you remove color from wood.

Look for a two-part bleach to do the job

You'll find three kinds of products marketed as wood bleaches. But only one will remove the natural color from wood: a two-part wood bleach of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and hydrogen peroxide. Other wood bleaches are chlorine bleach and oxalic acid.
Chlorine bleach, which is like ordinary laundry bleach, will remove dye color from wood, but not the wood's natural color. Oxalic acid is commonly employed to bleach out water or rust stains. Teak stain remover sold by boat dealers is often based on oxalic acid.
All the bleaching chemicals pose health and safety hazards to varying degrees. So be sure to read the manufacturer's instructions and warnings before use. And always wear rubber gloves and eye protection around bleaches.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

These sketches are to calm my brain. I am still in the process of altering these forms before I commit to them so these sketches allow me to sort of see what they may look like if I had used the initial carved form.